I blog here at Beliefnet.com and at ConversantLife.com. On Twitter I’m @joanpball and I am one of several Joan Balls from New York on Facebook. I keep up with past students and professional business contacts on LinkedIn and have my eyes on Ning and Squidoo, although I haven’t made the time to create profiles there yet. Simon and Schuster has begun to build a page on their site for my book and there is a rough cut of a book trailer up on YouTube. I read more than a dozen blogs regularly and comment with some frequency on about half of them. I’ve never been interested in MySpace, although Martin’s music (I play bass on some of his tracks are up there.)
As my exploration of the world of social networking continues – both for teaching and book purposes – I find that these tools have allowed me to reconnect with old friends and to make new ones. Unlike many people who lament the lack of face-to-face contact, I’ve had more than one lovely lunch/dinner/coffee as a result of experimenting with these tools.
That said, I can understand the potential dangers of conducting relationships separated by screens and machines.
What about you? Do you find your online presence has enhanced relationships or isolated you in front of the screen?
Read Previous Post